The beatdown of the century carries on in “Justice/Doom War” part 5 this week, as the entire multiverse is rocked. Will Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV’s epic event end everything? The stakes couldn’t be higher as the past, future, and presently come together to stop Perpetua and her ideal future where the universe is made a clean slate.
So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:
“The Justice Doom War” part five! All Hypertime is breaking! If it blows, all of reality will follow after-which would be just fine for Lex Luthor, who is ready to prove to the evil goddess Perpetua that he’s the bad man for her. The Justice League is attempting to do what they can, chasing the Legion of Doom across the time-sphere. If the Totality is put back together, the whole Multiverse will tip toward Doom…and have consequences that reverberate throughout the DC Universe-assuming it’s not destroyed in the process.
Why does this matter?
We are four issues from the finale in this nine part event, but that doesn’t mean the actions taken here don’t matter! Far from it, as this series leans heavily on the war aspect of the series with many great speeches as the battle rages on.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
It is always darkest before the dawn, and it sure gets dark in this issue. The heroes have their backs against the wall, and while there’s still hope, the events in this issue certainly make a case for the heroes to abandon it. The issue opens with Cheetah giving a rousing speech as she attempts to destroy Atlantis. This is followed by an equally good speech by Green Lantern that shows the height of war is at hand. Tynion and Snyder continue to keep the weight of this story on the characters’ shoulders and it shows in the dialogue. Any good war movie requires a good speech and the creators are emulating that formula here.
Epic!
Credit: DC Comics
This issue does a good job with the payoff to the cliffhanger of the last issue and the fight scenes continue to impress. Bruno Redondo and Howard Porter trade-off art duties and do a good job keeping the action intense and dramatic. There are multiple double-page layouts that impress and show off a wide range of action you’ll linger on.
There is a weight to that action that makes it feel purposeful too. Hawkgirl’s desire for revenge or Starman’s moment of clarity all feel paramount to the characters and their personal story arcs. The use of Vandal Savage is quite good too and seems to add to his bigger story.
It can’t be perfect, can it?
The villains get the upper-hand in the final pages but I’m at a loss for why. I understand people across the multiverse are choosing doom over justice, but I can’t understand how it plays out. It’s been referred to before, this epic choice, but it pops up out of nowhere here. The aspect of all of humanity choosing one or the other isn’t visualized and thus is somewhat forgotten. It’s an aspect Luthor was counting on but it sort of happens off the page making the cliffhanger seem to come out of nowhere.
Is it good?
The tables have turned in this fifth part of a nine part story and there’s so much good action and dialogue to be had. If you like war stories you’re bound to love this story arc.
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